Renewable Energy and the Future of Western North Carolina

Statement

They said it couldn't be done. They said we had to rely on dirty fossil fuels for our economy to run.

They were wrong.

Ten years ago, half of our energy in the United States came from coal. This year, according to a report in The New York Times, we will produce more energy from renewable sources than coal for the first time ever.

Now we know we can thrive on clean, renewable energy. And we can combat climate change while protecting the environment that is so critical to our economy in Western North Carolina.

It's a win-win, if we have the leadership to take advantage of it.

"North Carolina ranks second in the nation in solar energy production and Western North Carolina should be the epicenter for alternative energy development and deployment for the east coast,'' Moe Davis said. "Green tech jobs are good for our economy, good for our environment and good for our national security by helping to make us energy independent.

"I've seen the coal industry from start to finish. I did black lung hearings for miners when I was a judge at the Department of Labor and I've attended meetings on the disposal of coal ash at the Duke Power plant in Asheville. We need to look to the future, not the past, and alternative energy is the right road to be on."

Source